


From the Outside

by Persiflage



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Cousy Rewatch, Episode Tag, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Missing Scene, Naked Cuddling, POV Alternating, POV Outsider, POV Skye | Daisy Johnson, Resolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 03:46:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12673764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: Hank Thompson falls into the same trap as many before him: he thinks Skye and Coulson are a couple.





	From the Outside

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skyepilot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/gifts).



> Written for the Cousy Rewatch run by Johnson & Coulson on Tumblr - we all noticed that in 'The Writing on the Wall' Hank Thompson gave the impression that he thought that Daisy and Phil are a couple, so Outsider PoV looking at the two of them together towards the end of the episode, and then it picks up from Daisy's PoV after Hank's gone home.

Hank watches as the young woman, Skye he remembers her name is, carefully cleans up the cuts on the arms of the older man, Coulson. She’s gentle, tender almost, and he is reminded of his own wife, Katie, and the way she has looked after him when he’s been sick or injured. He can tell that Coulson’s trying to brush off the cuts given to him by Derik, but she’s not buying his assertions that the cuts aren’t that serious. In fact, the ones on his arms aren’t that bad – Derik didn’t cut that deeply, or Coulson would’ve lost a lot more blood, but the one on his chest might be much worse. 

“Skye,” Coulson says softly. “I’m fine.”

She doesn’t quite roll her eyes, but Hank’s familiar with the expression that comes into her eyes – he’s seen it in Katie’s eyes often enough, and he suppresses a smile, thinking that Coulson might be better off just submitting to Skye’s ministrations. 

“Let me see it anyway,” she says quietly. “Just to be sure.”

Coulson sighs, then nods before closing his eyes, and Skye lifts the hem of his t-shirt upwards. Hank looks away, not wanting to be caught watching them in what seems a moment of intimacy. He wonders just where he’s going to be heading – Coulson had said something about taking him in to ‘debrief’ which sounds kinda military, but Coulson had denied they were military. Hanks thinks he’d feel a lot more nervous about where they’re heading if it wasn’t for Skye’s presence – he finds her very reassuring despite her obvious familiarity and capability with firearms. Perhaps it’s her tenderness towards Coulson that reassures him. Or how unassuming she looks – although that’s not really proof that someone isn’t dangerous. He mentally shakes his head, aware that his mind is wandering, but this has been a seriously weird day. He’s just glad that Katie and Graham are okay.

“So what’s the verdict, Dr Skye?” Coulson’s voice has a teasing note to it, and Hank risks a look towards the pair, and is relieved that Coulson’s t-shirt is back in place, and that Skye is handing him his shirt and suit jacket.

“You’ll live,” she says cheerfully. 

“Good to know.”

“Although, if you ever run off like that again without any kind of backup, I might just shoot you after all.”

She doesn’t sound as if she’s joking, Hank notices, and watches surreptitiously as Coulson clasps her arm and squeezes it.

“Understood,” he says softly, and Hank has to turn away again because the way he’s looking at Skye is just too tender for Hank to watch. 

“Okay, we’re good to go.” Skye’s voice is suddenly brisk, and Hank turns towards them again. She gives him a friendly smile. “You sure you’re okay to come with us now?” she asks.

He nods. “Katie and Graham are safe enough now you’ve taken Derik into custody,” he says. He’d seen Mack, the big black guy who’d been driving the SUV that he’d stopped up on the main road, take charge of Derik, and had felt reassured by the big man’s authoritative manner.

Skye nods back, then gestures for Hank to precede her and Coulson. He leads the way outside to where Coulson’s parked his own SUV, and tries not to eavesdrop as Skye whispers something to Coulson. He can’t quite make out the words, because her voice is too low, but her tone is still very caring.

They’re largely silent on the drive to wherever they’re going, but Hank can’t help noticing that Coulson can hardly take his eyes off Skye, who’s driving, and that she frequently glances over at him, as if she reassuring herself that he’s there and okay. He can’t help wondering what their story is, and how long they’ve been together – their behaviour has the easy familiarity of a long term relationship, but as far as he can tell, Skye’s only in her early 20s. (It doesn’t bother him that Coulson is clearly at least a couple of decades older than her, but he wonders if the disparity in their ages bothers either of them – he knows how bigoted some people can be about such things.)

“So how did you two meet, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Coulson kidnapped me in order to ask me for my help in finding someone.”

Hank feels his eyebrows shoot up, wondering if she’s joking, but she sounds entirely serious. “Kidnapped you?” he checks.

“Yup. With the whole hood over the head deal, and everything.”

He looks over at Coulson, who’s smirking a bit, and frowns in bafflement. 

“To be fair, Skye was hacking our computer system before that,” he says in a very fond tone. “She wanted to be found.”

“I didn’t want to be kidnapped, though,” she protests, but she’s smirking too.

“No, that bit wasn’t entirely fair.” He looks over his shoulder at Hank. “Fortunately for me, she forgave us.”

“Well yeah,” she says, in a ‘well-duh’ tone of voice. “Because I quickly figured out you were a decent guy and it’d be a good thing if I helped you out.”

“Admit it, though, Lola helped.”

Skye laughs softly. “Just a little,” she agrees. She glances in the driving mirror and sees Hank’s expression, and laughs a little more. “Lola is Coulson’s classic car – a 1962 cherry red convertible. Which just happens to fly.”

“You’re serious,” he says, but doubtfully, because he’s not sure if she is, or this is some elaborate prank they’re pulling – though why they would, he cannot imagine.

“Deadly serious,” Skye says. “She’s a gorgeous car. But she’s also got some very advanced tech in her.”

Hank shakes his head a little disbelievingly, wondering just what he’s gotten himself into.

“Sadly I cannot prove to you that she’s a flying car,” Coulson says, in a regretful tone. “She was damaged during a high stakes escape from a plane, and I’ve yet to get her repaired.”

“That’s a shame,” Hank says. “I wouldn’t have minded seeing that.”

“She saved our lives, though,” Skye says, and sounds as if she’s very grateful.

“So how long have you two been together?”

They both shoot him a look, Coulson’s face flushing in what, after a moment, Hank realises is embarrassment, while Skye coughs theatrically. “We’re not together,” Coulson says, still pink. “I’m Skye’s boss.”

“Oh.” Hank feels himself blushing now, mortified at making such a mistake. But really, they can’t blame him – they’ve been behaving like a couple the whole time since he walked back into the barn after Mack told him it was safe. “I beg your pardon,” he says in a very formal tone.

“It’s okay,” Skye says, sounding amused. “You’re not the first person to make that mistake.”

Hank nods, but doesn’t say anything else, and before they’ve driven much further Skye pulls over and tells him, very apologetically, that she’ll have to blindfold him before they arrive at ‘the base’. He feels a bit weirded out, but doesn’t argue because he realises he trusts Skye.

Once they arrive at the base Skye takes his arm and helps him from the SUV, then leads him at a slow pace for a short time, before slipping the blindfold off to reveal he’s standing in an office. Coulson, who’s now put on a tie as well as his suit, is standing by a desk, and he smiles at Hank with a hint of apology.

“Welcome to SHIELD, Mr Thompson,” he says in a formal tone.

“Thank you,” Hank says, a little uncertainly. There’s another Asian woman, besides Skye, in the room, whom Coulson introduces as ‘Agent May’, and two other men, whom Coulson doesn’t introduce, but Hank assumes they’re his minders or guards. During the ensuing conversation with Coulson, Hank notices that Skye seems very quiet, and guarded, almost. She is standing with her head down, for the most part, her hands clutched in front of her, and Hank wonders why she seems so determined to efface herself. He doesn’t ask, because it’s not his place, but he does wonder if he embarrassed her with his faux pas about her relationship with Coulson.

Agent May conducts his debriefing, asking him a series of questions about the whole incident, and he answers as informatively, but as concisely as he can. He finds himself more than a bit taken aback when Coulson reveals that he used to be a SHIELD agent himself – the idea seems a bit absurd, initially, but then he remembers how he caught the knife in his tied hands when Derik threw it at him, and the accuracy with which he’d then thrown that knife to cut the rope that Coulson was suspended from, and he realises that it’s actually not impossible that it’s true. The idea makes him uncomfortable, though, and he’s relieved when Coulson lets him know he can go home.

As he’s led away, blindfolded again, he can’t help wondering if Skye and Coulson will end up getting together – it seems like a waste if they don’t, but of course it’s none of his business. He resolutely puts them from his mind and concentrates, instead, on the thought of getting back to his wife and son. 

DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ

After Hank’s gone, and May’s given her and Coulson a stern talking to about using the memory machine, Skye looks over at Coulson, who’s now settled behind his desk, and thinks about how much lighter he seems now. She’s immensely glad that the compulsion to carve has gone now that he has the final piece to the ‘puzzle’, but she’s still concerned for him as she’s certain it’ll take him a while to get over what’s been happening to him these last few months.

“I can feel you staring,” he says, his tone light. He looks up from the paperwork on his desk, a hint of a smile touching the corners of his mouth.

“Sorry,” she says, although she’s not particularly sorry. 

He gets up and comes around his desk to stand in front of her. “I’m okay, I promise.” His voice and his eyes are soft, and she can tell he’s trying very hard to reassure her. “Derik hardly scratched me.”

She shakes her head, and he moves even closer, and she doesn’t stop to consider whether it’s a good idea, she just wraps her arms around him. He reciprocates easily enough, she’s relieved to notice, and they simply hold onto each other.

“You had me so worried when you threw me in that cell and ran out without any backup,” she tells him, wondering if he can even hear her words since she’s got her face buried in his neck.

“I know,” he tells her, “and I’m very sorry.”

“You should be,” she says firmly. “You’re the Director of SHIELD, you need to be more careful. We can’t manage without you.”

“Nonsense,” he says immediately. “You and May would manage fine without me.”

“I wouldn’t,” she says, wondering if that’s an admission she shouldn’t have made, but it’s too late now – the words are out.

She feels his arms tighten a little more, then he loosens his grip and pulls back a bit to look at her face, and she’s reminded of when they’d hugged aboard the Bus when he walked into the containment room and freed her from Ward.

“Skye,” he says softly, his expression almost unbearably tender.

“Coulson,” she whispers back, then moves her mouth towards his, as if she might kiss him. To her immense relief he accepts the invitation, and presses his lips to hers, his hand firm at the back of her head.

The kiss quickly becomes deeper, more intense even, and Skye revels in the pleasure of kissing and being kissed by Coulson. He’s every bit as good a kisser as she had always assumed. (Yes, she’s speculated, so sue her.) She can feel her arousal building up rapidly, and is very aware of the fact that Coulson’s cock is growing thicker and harder as he presses her lower body more tightly against his own. Her nipples have grown tight, and she feels a throb of want in her sex. Moisture’s pooling there and she can hardly think straight because she’s so aroused.

“I want to be with you,” he mutters, and she groans softly. 

“Yes, Phil, please.” It feels greatly daring to call him Phil instead of Coulson even if there’s no one else around to hear it. 

He disengages his lips, but she can’t help chasing his mouth with hers because now that they’ve kissed it seems absurd not to continue kissing. He chuckles softly and Skye’s eyes snap open to see a smirk gracing his features.

“Let’s take this to my quarters,” he suggests, and she feels her already rapid heartbeat thump even harder at the implications.

“Yes,” she says quickly. “Let’s do that.”

He lets go of her, and she immediately misses his arms holding her, but she doesn’t want to seem too needy or desperate, so she doesn’t complain. To her delight, he slips his left hand into her right and leads her out of his office, then down the short hallway to his bunk. He pushes open the door, then gestures for her to enter first, and she can’t help feeling a thrill of excitement at the idea of being inside his quarters.

She tries to get a look at the room, but Coulson’s pulling her into his arms and kissing her again before she can get more than a brief glimpse, and she decides she can look at the room later.

As they kiss she loosens the knot of his tie and pulls it undone, slowly sliding the fabric from beneath his shirt collar. His fingers trail down her front, unbuttoning her shirt in fits and starts as she wedges her thigh between both of his and presses against his rampant erection. He groans into her mouth, then his hands are cupping her breasts, which makes her moan back as a bolt of pure pleasure hits between her legs. 

They finish undressing each other, their kisses getting sloppier with every passing minute, and then Coulson’s mouth is on her right breast and he sucks so hard that she comes, which is frankly embarrassing. He doesn’t seem to mind, though, if the smirk he aims her way is anything to go by. He shifts his mouth from one breast to the other and sucks again, and she tries to grab his hair, but it’s too short, so she wraps her hand around the back of his neck and tugs gently. He looks up, but she’s not sure he can see anything – he looks kinda dazed, and she realises with a start that he’s dazed with lust and excitement for her, and she’s both amazed and smug.

She bites down on his bottom lip, not too hard, but enough to nip and to break through the haze, and he moans, then starts kissing her more enthusiastically, and she gives up on trying to unbutton his shirt and unfastens his pants instead. When she slides her hand inside his clothes and curls her fingers around his shaft he swears, which both surprises and arouses her. She’s never heard him say ‘Fuck’ before and she really likes it, she discovers, especially when he repeats it along with her name as she strokes his cock.

“Bed,” she suggests, and he pulls back, then steps back completely and drops his pants and boxers to the floor, quickly stepping out of them before shedding his shirt, shoes, and socks. 

“You can leave your undershirt on, if you prefer,” she tells him, pressing her right hand lightly over his scarred heart. 

He pulls her into his arms and kisses her – a slow, very thorough kiss that’s surprisingly tender, then he moves back again and tugs off the undershirt too. Next he grabs her hips and pulls her in close, kissing her again, while he unfastens her pants, then helps her to finish undressing completely. He rests the palm of his hand lightly against her belly, covering the faint scars left after Quinn shot her, then he backs across to the bed, guiding her across the room.

She’s charmed when he opens the drawer of the bedside table and removes a pack of condoms, and she takes one from the box to roll down his erection. He’s bigger than she’d guessed, and the thought of having his dick inside her is very exciting.

“Do you want to be on top?” he asks, but she shakes her head, and settles in the centre of the bed. He leans down to kiss her, his cock brushing against her hip, before he straddles her and slowly, carefully slides it into her aching sex.

“You’re so tight,” he murmurs.

“No, you’re really big,” she counters, and he smirks down at her.

“Maybe it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other,” he suggests.

“Maybe you should stop talking and just fuck me already,” she retorts, and that makes him chuckle. He leans down to kiss her, then begins to move, and Skye wraps her body around his, appreciating how well-muscled his body is, and how solid he feels.

As first times go, Skye reckons it’s the best she’s ever had (and despite how she looks and what too many people assume, she hasn’t had that many lovers in her life), but that doesn’t really surprise her – she and Coulson are so connected that it would’ve been more of a surprise if it hadn’t been good. He gets her off three times before she finally persuades him to ‘just let go’, and she suspects that’s an age and experience thing. She can’t say she minds one bit, and she enjoys the post-coital snuggles that follow the actual sex.

She can’t help wondering, as he dozes beside her, whether they’d have dared to take this step if it hadn’t been for Hank Thompson’s assumption that they were a couple. Not that it matters – they’ve taken this step, and Skye, for one, has no intention of regretting it.


End file.
